(By Casey Harper, The Center Square) Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced Thursday he is running for president.
Suarez joins a crowded Republican field but is a fresh face in the race, and his position as a Latino candidate with experience leading, and getting votes from, a large, diverse city could set him apart.
“My Dad taught me that you get to choose your battles, and I am choosing the biggest one of my life,” he wrote on Twitter alongside his announcement video. “I’m running for President.”
Suarez’s dad was the first Cuban-born mayor of Miami.
“When I was elected, the city was broke and broken, but we came together,” he said. “And I won my election with over 80% of the vote.”
Suarez pointed to his record lowering taxes to “historic lows” and boosting Miami’s economy, leading to the city’s low unemployment and growing tech industry.
His donation page calls him a “tough-on-crime, pro-police and pro-America leader.”
Suarez oversees the very city in which the Republican frontrunner and former President Donald Trump was arraigned earlier this week. Trump faces 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents after his time as president.
Radio host and commentator Larry Elder, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy have announced their 2024 ambitions as well. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is running, and former Vice President Mike Pence is also in the race.
RealClearPolitics’ polling average has Trump in the lead with 52% support among GOP voters, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in second with 21.6% support, Pence in third with 4.9%, and Haley in fourth with 3.6%.
The announcement video featured Suarez running through Miami, visiting his childhood home and school.
“I started a program that helped every child open up their own bank account,” he said. “For many, that is where their own American dream started.”
